Clarkson offering musical workshop

Give the kids something to look forward to with a two-day musical theatre workshop with Joey Clarkson on Dec. 27 and 28 at the Comox Valley Kung Fu Academy. / PHOTO SUBMITTED

The stockings are empty, the gifts are opened and you are looking at leftover Christmas turkey for the next week.

Give the kids something to look forward to with a two-day musical theatre workshop with Joey Clarkson on Dec. 27 and 28 at the Comox Valley Kung Fu Academy.

Clarkson is a popular teacher and performer in Western Canada, with students in the U.K., the UAE and Ireland. Her high-energy workshops are a hit with the younger crowd.

The four-hour-a-day workshops introduce the students to voice work, script work, and basic choreography, ending in a short presentation for family and friends.

Clarkson has been teaching for the past six years and has recently been added to the prestigious ArtStarts Artist in the Classroom roster, a provincial catalogue of touring artists supported by ArtStarts.

"This was fantastic news!" smiles Clarkson. "It will make my workshops even more affordable and accessible, ArtStarts grants can fund up to 60 per cent of the fee for me to bring a workshop to a school group. I hope to be touring extensively in B.C. in the next school year."

"This is an opportunity not many children have available to them and we are so thankful this experience will be part of their life story," says Monica Yorke, who has had children in Clarkson's workshops for the past five years.

"Joey has worked with our school's children, kindergarten to Grade 9 on several occasions. Her sessions have been upbeat, informative and provide learners with the extra confidence they need to take their musical and dramatic skills to the next level," shares Alissa Pratt, vice-principal of the North Island Distance Education School.

Joey is using her rapport with children and youth in yet another capacity this winter, teaming with Habitat for Humanity to raise awareness in the schools for their The House the Kids Built project, a friendly competition directed at the youth of the Comox Valley.

Clarkson and a Habitat representative will visit School District 71 schools in the following weeks meeting students, inspiring them take the opportunity to make an immediately visible difference in their community.

Classes will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 27 and 28 for children aged five and older. Gift certificates are available. For more information, visit www.joeyclarksonmusicaltheatre.com, phone Joey at 250-334-2208 or e-ail joeyclarksonmusicaltheatre@gmail.com to book your space.